How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, And Why It Happens (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
ARC provided by LibraryThing and NetGalleySomething that I think we all struggle with, especially in recent years, is discovering how our brains work, how we learn, and how we can improve them. And the publishing industry is starting to catch on and publish books that distill this information into layman’s terms, something that the average Joe or Jane can pick up, instantly recognize themselves in and learn something new. One of the first books that I read that did this was The Power of Habit (which is a marvelous book that everyone should read), which discussed how we form habits, how habits can be broken, and how new ones can be created, even when it seems as if the brain is slowing down. Now, Benedict Carey comes to us in How We Learn, to show us that some of the facts that we’ve believed for ages: learning is all about self-discipline, we must have designated study areas, we must have silence, and maintain rituals to ace our exams or do well at the big competition this weekend, can be, and most likely is, bullshit. Carey, an award-winning science reporter, walks us through research and studies to show us that from the moment that we are born we learn quickly, efficiently, and without effort, without having to have all of these other things in the way. It is only as we age, where we try to make up a system and listen to self help gurus or others that tell us what we must have to study and learn that we can begin to have difficulties. And Carey shows us this and takes us through how to recapture some of that form effortless learning so that it becomes less of a chore, and more of an everyday part of our life. In short, Carey shows us that we need to unlearn many of the things that we’ve learned and go back to the basics.This is a fun, entertaining, and engaging read, one that something everyone will get something out of and should be required reading for anyone in the education field. I give it four out of five stars. This was a great book. I would recommend it to others because Carey has a talent for taking obscure, sometimes turgid psychological studies and translating their findings into practical, accessible language. For those well-versed in cognitive psychology (especially memory and learning) you probably won't find much new here. Nevertheless, I discovered some new ideas for study techniques—varying study locations, interleaving materials, and using the spacing-effect to maximize recall. I'll expand on the first idea more for the purpose of this review. When we study material and try to convert information from short-term to long-term memory, we often encode those memories with visual cues from our study location. While common wisdom stresses discovering a "study spot" that you always use for studying/reading, most psychological studies show that as our mind grows accustomed to one location it can actually inhibit learning because the visual cues are not novel. Therefore, if you study in multiple locations you can often recall more of the information because your mind relates the information with new environments. In short, do not always study in the same space. Great book. Highly recommended, especially for those looking to maximize retention and seeking study aids.
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Different experiments showing the effect of various learning techniques sometimes counterintuitive.
—GeorginaR
